Jodo Shinshu Buddhism for everyone
By Rev. Victor Ogundipe
To become a fully-ordained minister (called kyōshi), I participated in a grueling week-long retreat called shūren at Higashi Honganji mother temple in Kyoto. Last September, entering the temple I nearly feinted from the summer heat and high humidity. Continue reading “The Meaning of Chanting”
By Julien Le Coz
Since becoming Buddhist 15 years ago, I dreamed of visiting Japan. In my home country France, Rev. Miki Nakura conducted my kikyoshiki Buddhist name ceremony, then last Fall, we finally met in Kyoto.
Continue reading “Kyoto Pilgrimage”
Throughout his 90-year life, Shinran Shōnin (1173-1262) continuously asked important religious questions. His many writings—including letters, hymns (wasan) and commentaries—peaked in his mid-80s, expressing his deep understanding. Continue reading “Shinran Shōnin: the Truly Settled (shōjōju)”
By Rev. Patti Nakai
These days I feel “my life sucks.” Shinran Shonin would say—bonnō gusoku – filled with irritation/misery. He often slung that description of himself and the human condition. We’re full of it; why should we expect otherwise?
I’m steeped in bonnō; clearly there’s nothing “blind” about it. Physically I’m in pain and discomfort from stage-four cancer in my spine and liver and the many side effects of radiation treatments and oral medications. My personal life has daily annoyances and stressful episodes. Add dukkha from seeing news about violence in our cities, country and world. Continue reading “Steeped in Suffering”
Arriving at Higashi Honganji mother temple in Kyoto for shūren (ministers retreat), I had only a rough idea of what awaited. After receiving initial tokudō ordination, I needed training for full kyōshi ordination, which would enable me to work as a temple minister. But nothing—absolutely nothing—prepared me for the intensity, discipline, and emotional weight of this monastic-like experience.
It wasn’t quiet meditation, peaceful strolls in nature, and reflective periods of reading sutras, rather relentless activity that was physically and mentally demanding, highly structured, and ultimately deeply transformative for me. By week’s end, I learned more about myself than years of academic study could ever teach. Continue reading “Minister Training in Kyoto”
By Rev. Ken Yamada
Serious seekers “study” Buddhism, but can we really “learn” Jōdo Shinshū? What, how, and why do we study?
Buddhist thinker and Ōtani University professor Kaneko Daiei (1881-1976) pondered such questions in a 1966 essay, “Prolegomena to Shin Buddhist Studies,” reckoning on academia’s purpose ( Robert F. Rhodes translation in Cultivating Spirituality, A Modern Shin Buddhist Anthology). He begins by stating:
Shin Buddhism teaches us to go to the Pure Land by saying the nenbutsu. That’s all. Since that’s all there is to the teaching of Shin Buddhism, is there any need to study it academically? Continue reading “Kaneko: Can we “study” Shin Buddhism?”